ThePSLV-C62 was the 64th flight of theISRO'sPSLV and its return to flight mission followingPSLV-C61. The mission was launched on 12 January 2026 with multiple payloads for customers[2] but failed to reach orbit.[3][4][5]
The primary payload of the mission was theEOS-N1 imaging satellite built for strategic purposes byDRDO.[7] A small 25 kg football-sizedspace capsule developed by the Spain-based startup Orbital Paradigm called Kestrel Initial Demonstrator (KID) flew on the PS-4 stage.Bengaluru-based space company OrbitAID Aerospace expected to perform anon-orbit satellite refuelling expiriment with AayulSAT.[8] Twelve other commercial payloads totalling about 200 kg from companies and research institutions from India, Brazil, Nepal, Thailand, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom were also manifested for this flight.[9][10][11] The PS-4 was planned to make an orbital re-entry with the KID payload attached following primary payload injection. This was ISRO's first launch attempt of 2026.[6]
The rocket lifted off at 10:18:30 AM IST. The first and second stages performed normally during the course of flight. However, near the end of the third stage's operation, a deviation was observed in the flight controls related to its roll-rates just prior to stage separation, resulting in flight failure.[12][13][14][15] The Spanish re-entry space capsuleKID was the only survivor of the launch failure, as it managed to separate from the rocket and transmitted flight data for three minutes with a peak of 28g during its non-nominal descent.[16][17][18] It has been presumed that the vehicle achieved a suborbital trajectory of approximately -3800 x 390 km with a 98-degree inclination before plummeting roughly near 75°E, 18°S over theSouthern Indian Ocean.[19]
ISRO ChairmanV. Narayanan indicated that detailed analysis for the flight's failure has been initiated by ISRO, refusing additional media statements. It was also noted that a similar failure was the cause for the unsuccessfulC-61 flight eight months prior.[12][13][14]NSA director Ajit Doval visited VSSC facilities following the flight failure due to the prescense of national security payload on-board,where he was given an appraisal of events by VSSC director A.Rangarajan.[20][21]ISRO has also consulted an external agency in addition to its own Failure Anaylsis Commite,chaired by former chairmanK.Sivan.[22][21]The FAC is to submit its report to the PMO by June, with the next return to flight launch for the PSLV rocket scheduled for late-June 2026.[23]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
